PFA Cultural Series Programs 09-10:

One of the many things that distinguishes the Bancroft School from other schools is its Cultural Events Series. Bancroft has had a long history of recognizing culture and the arts as an integral part of education.

 

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Regie O'Hare Gibson: Poet, songwriter, author and educator

US in the Theatre

January 6th, 2010.  Wednesday @ 11:50-12:30

10:30-11:15  Mr. Gibson will be a guest in Mr. McMillian's class

11:15-12:40  Lunch Small Dining Room, with Mr. McMillian and student writers

Thanks to the enthusiastic recommendation of Don McMillan’s creative writing class, who saw Regie Gibson at the Mass Poetry Festival 2009, we have invited Mr. Gibson to perform at Bancroft School.

Regie O'Hare Gibson, is the winner of the 1998 National Slam Competition and finished second place in the 1999's competition. Regie Gibson has performed, taught, and lectured at schools, universities, theaters and various other venues on two continents and in seven countries. Most recently in Havana Cuba. Regie is widely published in anthologies, magazines and journals, such as Power Lines, An Anthology of Poetry along with three Pulitzer-Prize winning poets Gwendolyn Brooks, Yosef Komunyakaa, and Lisel Mueller, his first full-length book of poetry Storms Beneath The Skin (EM Press) was released in 2001. (From authors/regiegibson.htm)

 

Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity

Guest Speaker: Aaron Bernstein

US in the Theatre

February 3rd, 2010.  Wednesday @ 11:50-12:30

Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity
Edited by ERIC CHIVIAN and AARON BERNSTEIN

"Preventing species extinctions isn't just for their sakes, it's also for our "own."  Harvard Medical School physician Aaron Bernstein, co-editor and co-lead author of the Oxford Press book Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity, will share the book’s compelling message: that "human beings are an integral part of Nature, and that our health ultimately depends on the health of all species and on the ecosystems they comprise." The rich variety of life on our planet is our heritage and our future, and we as individuals can help conserve the Earth's biodiversity upon which all life depends. "We all believe that life on Earth is sacred and that we must never give up in trying to preserve it"

Aaron Bernstein, M.D., M.P.H. is a Faculty Member at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, and practices at Children’s Hospital Boston as a hospitalist, and was a Harvard University Zuckerman Fellow in 2008. Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity, the most comprehensive and accessible account available of the ties between human health and the natural world, has received numerous accolades, having been named one of the best biology books of 2008 by the Library Journal and been cited as the “the most powerful argument I have seen for the importance of preserving biodiversity.” by Al Gore. (From http://chge.med.harvard.edu/programs/bio/index.html)

Contact: aaron_bernstein@hms.harvard.edu

 

A Cappella Night Returns!

Friday, February 5th @ 7:00 PM

Join Bancroft's own A Cappella group, Uncommon Time, for a night of music to share with the whole family.

Tickets are $5.00 and can be purchased through Vickie Powers in the front office. 

Also Featuring:

Skidmore Sonneteers: with Nicole Peterson Alumnus Class 2007

The Clark Bars: Clark University

The Harvard Opportunes:  Harvard University

For more information and a listening preview, visit the group's website below:

The Clark Bars: The Clark Bars are Clark University's premier co-ed a cappella group, covering a wide range of musical genres and styles. First formed in 1989, the Clark Bars love to travel around the northeast to perform and hang out with other groups. (From:clarku.edu/clarkbars)

Skidmore Sonneteers: The Sonneteers, an all female a cappella group, was formed in 1947, making us the oldest a cappella group (and club) at Skidmore. In the history of the group, we have performed throughout the area; competed in the ICCA (where one of our girl’s received the “outstanding arrangement” award); and have recorded with RCA and Columbia. Our group was considered a pioneer in the realm of women's groups.

Over the years, repertoire has included all kinds of music from college songs to jazz standards; from calypso music to popular songs. The group has pretty much done it all, and we have been a very important part of the Skidmore community. We orchestrate our rehearsals, plan our performances, and spend many hours putting our energy towards making beautiful music. (From: skidmore.Sonneteers/Home)

The Harvard Opportunes: Harvard’s first full-fledged mixed a cappella ensemble. The Opportunes have won widespread acclaim for their intricate six-to-eight-part harmonies as well as for their stage presence and sense of humor. Though all are seasoned musicians, the Opportunes have academic concentrations spanning Harvard’s diverse curriculum, from molecular and cellular biology to social studies to English. Our members hail from all over the country and the world. (From: harvard-opportunes)

 

Whale Day

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Lower School & 6th Grade Science: The Tan Gym

Using interactive exhibits, students learn about the intelligence and biology of marine mammals, as well as how researchers study them. Kids get the answers to all of their questions about marine mammals and get involved with the activities. The program’s showstopper is a life-sized inflatable right whale. (From http://www.neaq.org)

8:00 Volunteer Training

9:00-9:45 Grade 4

9:45-10:30 6th Grade Science, Ms. Whitney's class

10:45-11:30 Grade 3

1:15-2:00 (welcome to stay later) Grade 5 and Grade 1 Buddies

2:45-3:30 Grade 2

Shakespeare Now!  Romeo and Juliet

Grade 8 and US in the Theatre

April 1, 2010. Thursday @ 9:45-11:05

Shakespeare Now! is a professional theater company which brings exciting, live performances of the playwright's great works to schools in New England.

Romeo and Juliet


In the world's most famous love story, two teenagers find love within an atmosphere of hate. Shakespeare's beautiful language interweaves romance, love, and family with mistrust, danger, and violence.    

The performance is with professional actors. Highlights of this one-hour dramatic productions include:
    •    Dialogue consists solely of the original Shakespeare text
    •    Action is vividly and clearly staged
    •    Themes include love and romance, civil and family conflict, ambition, political intrigue and power struggles
    •    Question-and-answer period follows the show

Students love getting Shakespeare off the page and onto the stage! (From:http://shakespearenow.org/)

Juliet:

My only love sprung from my only hate!

Too early seen unknown, and known too late!

Prodigious birth of love it is to me

That I must love a loathèd enemy.

 

Brian Lies author & illustrator

Grades 1, 2, 3 & Seniors:  Flex Room, McDonough Center

Friday, April 2nd

8:00-8:45   Seniors, Christian Gal

9:00-10:00   Grade 2 Robert Beliveau & Kristin Tupper

10:45-11:45   Grade 3 Halley Allen & Megan Jackel

12:30-1:15   Seniors Christian Gal

1:15-2:15   Grade 1 Sandra Allen & Pat Oyer

Brian Lies is the award-winning author/illustrator of the New York Times bestsellers Bats at the Beach and Bats at the Library. He has written and/or illustrated more than twenty books for children. Born in Princeton, New Jersey, Brian lives on the South Shore of Massachusetts with his wife and daughter. He has loved libraries and books since he was little, and when he travels, he rarely misses an opportunity to explore the local library.

Brian Lies will take students on an educational and entertaining journey into the world of making children's books—from early “sloppy copies” of both words and pictures, through labor-intensive revisions, and finally to a finished book. (From: Brian Lies Website)

Come, stay and show your support for the

PLAYATHON

Annual Celebration of the

Performing Arts

Friday, April 9th, 2010: 3:00-6:30 PM

The Harrington Theatre for Performing Arts 

Reception Immediately Following in the MPR.

Playathon Featuring: Tall Heights

Bancroft School Alumnus

Tim Harrington: Class of 2006

Paul Wright: Class of 2003

Sample their extraordinary music: http://www.myspace.com/tallheights

Poster Design By Murray Brown

 

Earth Day

April 22nd, 2010  Thursday

 

"Faces of Pakistan" Exhibition of Photographs

by Christopher Latham Sholes

April 23rd -May 7th, 2010

Front Lobby

The photographs are generously on loan from Rebecca Sholes, his daughter and a Bancroft parent.

Christopher Latham Sholes, who died in 2005 at the age of 72, was a career foreign service officer with the former United States Information Agency (know as U.S.I.S. overseas).  During his 28 year career, he lived and worked in India, Turkey and Pakistan where he also pursued his passion for photography. The best part of those years in Asia were devoted to making American life and culture better understood through a wide range of public affairs programs.  During this period of time, he served as the Director of the America Cultural Center both in Lahore, Pakistan and Madras, now know as Chennai, India.

Sholes left the Foreign Service in 1984 to pursue his photographic interests.  He began projecting to American audiences his understanding of South Asian life through slide lectures and photographic exhibitions in colleges and universities around the country.  Two of these efforts – “Faces of Pakistan” and “Living Gods, Hindu Faces” – were lauded for their artistic merit and the unique insights they gave into other peoples’ cultures.  Some of his Indian photographs also appeared in Aditi: The Living Arts of India, published by the Smithsonian on the occasion of the “Festival of India 1985-1986.” In 2006, a number of his photographs were included in an exhibition of Maine photographers held at the Jameson Gallery in Portland, Maine.

 

 

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...

One School at a Time. 

Guest Speaker: Greg Mortenson

April 30th, 2010.  Friday @ 8:30-9:15 for LS in the Theatre

                                        @ 9:45-10:45 for MS & US Tan Gym

                                        

 

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . .One School at a Time.

By GREG MORTENSON and DAVID OLIVER RELIN

Greg Mortenson is the co-founder of the nonprofit Central Asia Institute, www.ikat.org, founder of Pennies For Peace, www.penniesforpeace.org, and co-author of New York Times bestseller Three Cups of Tea, www.threecupsoftea.com published in 34 countries, and a New York Times bestseller for 120 weeks since its January 2007 release, and Time Magazine Asia Book of The Year.

In March 2009, Mortenson received Pakistan’s highest civil award, Sitara-e-Pakistan (“Star of Pakistan”) for his dedicated and humanitarian effort to promote education and literacy in rural areas for fifteen years.

Mortenson was born in 1957, and grew up on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (1958 to 1973). To honor his sister’s memory, in 1993, Mortenson climbed Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain in the Karakoram range. While recovering from the climb in a village called Korphe, Mortenson met a group of children sitting in the dirt writing with sticks in the sand, and made a promise to help them build a school. From that rash promise, grew a remarkable humanitarian campaign, in which Mortenson has dedicated his life to promote education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and
Afghanistan.

As of 2009, Mortenson has established over 90 schools in rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, which provide education to over 34,000 children, including 24,000 girls, where few education opportunities existed before.

While not overseas, Mortenson, lives in Montana with his wife, Dr. Tara
Bishop, a clinical psychologist, and two young children.

Dec. 1, 2009 Release
Sequel to Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea: Stones Into Schools
By Greg Mortenson and Mike Bryan

“One ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, who is really changing the world." TV newscaster, Tom Brokaw

Peace and Hope Begin With Education: One Child At A Time

 

Bancroft School Greg Mortenson Common Read

Lower School Listen to the Wind (January-June) By Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth As global citizens, LS will be participating in Pennies for Peace http://www.penniesforpeace.org/ Middle School Common Read: 2009-2010 Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Change the World…One Child At A Time - Young Reader’s Edition By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, Adapted by Sarah Thomson, Foreword by Dr. Jane Goodall Upper School Common Read: 2008-2009 Three Cups of Tea One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

 

 

Past PFA Cultural Series Programs 2009

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Robert Goddard: The Father of the Modern Rockets

Guest Speaker: Barbara Berka

October 2nd, 2009.  Friday @ 8:00-8:45

LS Assembly in the Theatre

Three, two, one, blast off!!!  Barbara Berka, a former Science Teacher at Bancroft School, will launch the Lower School students into the world of Robert H. Goddard, the pioneer of liquid-fueled rocketry.


Robert H. Goddard was born in Worcester Massachusetts in 1882. By 1926 he had designed, built, and flown the world's first liquid fuel rocket.75 years ago today from his aunt Effie's farm in Auburn Massachusetts, the rocket, dubbed "Nell", rose to an altitude of 41 feet in a flight that lasted about 2 1/2 seconds. Pictured here Goddard stands next to the 10 foot tall rocket, holding the launch stand. During his career Goddard was ridiculed by the press for suggesting that rockets could be flown to the Moon. Widely recognized as a gifted experimenter and engineering genius, his rockets were many years ahead of their time. Goddard was awarded over 200 patents in rocket technology, most of them after his death in 1945. A liquid fuel rocket constructed on principles developed by Goddard landed humans on the Moon in 1969.  (From Goggle Images)

"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow". Professor Robert Goddard

Heidi Latsky Dance Company: "Gimp"

Bancroft community and guests are welcome to all performances.

Early evening Program will feature Prof. Judy Fask, M.Ed. Director of the Deaf Studies Program, as translator
using American Sign Language.

October 8th, 2009.  Thursday @ 5:30-6:30

Evening Performance with The College of Holy Cross, co-sponsor,

in the Harrington Theatre of Performing Arts

October 9th, 2009.  Friday @ 11:50-12:30 for US in the Theatre

                                Friday @   1:20-2:00 for MS in the Theatre

 
Through live performance and film, choreographer Heidi Latsky's "GIMP" confronts the audience with their preconceptions, challenging us to re-think accepted notions about dance, performance and body image.

"This is an exploration, which dives into the heart of difference, voyeurism and the unexpected. Latsky and company has created a piece of work that is a natural and completely unique vehicle for dialogue, increased understanding and civic engagement."

"GIMP is a series of movement portraits for both disabled and non-disabled dancers, that sends home a truth not about the beauty in physical differences but about the art of dance itself: What makes a glorious dancer is not body type but the ability of a performer to create - with limbs and torso and, yes, heart - an illusion much grander than herself."

"Heidi Latsky Dance (HLD) is a New York-based modern dance company dedicated to creating provocative, highly technical and physically adventurous dance under the artistic direction of Heidi Latsky, a longtime principal member of Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Latsky has been a moving force in the dance world for over 25 years, creating works for the stage, theater and film. The company's encouragement of community involvement has created a vibrant audience of all ages who are discovering the magnetism of modern dance." (From http://www.heidilatskydance.net/)

 

Allies for Emancipation: Abraham Lincoln and the Abolitionists.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Manisha Sinha

October 21, 2009.  Wednesday @ 11:50-12:30 

US in the Theatre

In honor of Abraham Lincoln's Bicentennial (1809-2009), the distinguished historian and a Bancroft parent, Dr. Manisha Sinha will discuss the subject of her newest research project, a book on African Americans and the movement to abolish slavery.

"Abraham Lincoln was not an original advocate of abolition. In fact we know that his journey to what he called “the central act of my administration, and the great event of the nineteenth century” was a relatively slow, though continuous, one. Emancipation was a complex process that involved the actions of the slaves, the Union army, Congress, and the president. Historians have argued over the relative roles of the slaves and Lincoln in the coming of emancipation. It is my purpose to shift the terms of this debate by drawing attention to a third group of emancipators, abolitionists, particularly black abolitionists, and Radical Republicans." (Excerpted from http://www.historynow.org/12_2008/historian2.html)

Manisha Sinha is associate professor of Afro-American studies and history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is author of several books on the subject of the African American experience and coeditor of the the two-volume African American Mosaic: A Documentary History from the Slave Trade to the Twenty-First Century (2004) and Contested Democracy: Race, Freedom, and Power in American History (2007). She has written and lectured widely on southern and African American history, and has also written several articles on the historic nature of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and inauguration in The Huffington Post. (From Organization of American Historians)
contact: stueber97@charter.net

 

The Beyond War Library Display

The Garfield Library for the month of November.

 

 

Winslow Myers

Visiting Artist in the Studio Arts Classes

Exhibition of Paintings in the Lobby

November 8th -December 2009.

See more paintings by Winslow Myers: http://www.winslowmyers.com/

contact: winslow@winslowmyers

 

 

 

Science Writer and Educator: Writing Programs for Kids

Guest Author: Melissa Stewart

November 17th, 2009.

LS Program

 

Readers Theatre "When Rain Falls"

8:10 -9:00 Kindergarten, Grade One and Grade Two

In the Theatre

Bringing Science to Life
Readers Theater is a dramatic presentation of a written work in a script form.  Grade Two will read from a script based on "When Rain Falls" to the Kindergarten and Grade One.  The focus is on reading the text with expressive voices and gestures. Making comprehending the text meaningful and fun! Following the reading, Ms. Stewart will lead the students in a discussion about the process of making a book.  This program is designed to help students develop literacy skills and learn curriculum-related science concepts.   

"You'll Never Guess What Happened at Lunch"

McDonough Building: LS Flex Room

9:15-10:15  Grade Five

10:30-11:30 Grade Three

12:30-1:00 Lunch Small Dining Room- LS Faculty and PFA Book Fair Committee welcome.
 
1:15-2:15 Mrs. Parkinson Grade Four

2:15-3:15 Mrs. Shack Grade Four

You'll Never Guess What Happened at Lunch: Writing Great Nonfiction
To engage an audience, nonfiction must flow clearly and logically and include strong verbs; rich, precise language; and meaningful details.  The students will bring their own writing to this hands-on workshop, and learn to craft prose that will interest and excite any reader.

Melissa Stewart is the award-winning author of more than 100 science books for children. She has always been fascinated by the natural world and is passionate about sharing its beauty and wonder with readers of all ages. Melissa believes that nothing brings nonfiction writing to life like firsthand research. While gathering information for her books, she has explored tropical rain forests in Costa Rica, gone on safari in East Africa, and swum with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands.

When Melissa isn’t writing or exploring the natural world, she spends time speaking at schools, libraries, nature centers, and educator conferences. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Board of Advisors and a judge for the American Institute of Physics Children’s Science Writing Award. Website: www.melissa-stewart.com/

 

Living Beyond War, A Citizen's Guide

Guest Speaker: Winslow Myers

November 19th, 2009.  Thursday @ 11:50-12:30

US in the Theatre

Living Beyond War, A Citizen's Guide
By WINSLOW MYERS

Winslow Myers, an artist and teacher, has worked for many years with Beyond War, an organization that explores and promotes the means for humanity to live without war. He will discuss the subject of his new book and present a cogent case against the presumption that war will always be with us given the violent nature of human beings and the realities of nationalism and power. (From www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id...)
 
After 40 years of teaching History of Art and Studio Art in various schools and colleges, including Bancroft School, the Rhode Island School of Design, Clark University, and Assumption College, Winslow Myers lives in the Boston area and continues to paint. He exhibits his paintings through Gallery 170 in Newcastle, ME and on his art website,  www.winslowmyers.com.
 
"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

PFA Bancroft Book Fair

November 18th, 19th & 20th.

Featured Authors

Book Signing

November 19th, 2009.  Thursday Afternoon 4:30-6:00

Winslow Myers: Living Beyond War, A Citizen's Guide	Amy K. Pearson:  Coastal Bermuda
Joseph Choiniere and Claire M. Golding: What's That Bird?	Melissa Stewart: When Rain Falls

Amy K. Pearson: Coastal Bermuda: 10 Walks and 73 Plants… you’ll see along the way, is the first complete guide to the coastal flora of Bermuda since 1918.  This book serves both as a field manual and touring guide.  Each plant gets its own page, complete with multiple photographs, detailed descriptions, and scientific nomenclature. 

Amy K. Pearson has taught high-school science at Bancroft School, in Worcester, MA, since 1977.  Since 1997 she has led student groups to Bermuda each June, to introduce them to the oceanic island’s unique ecology. In 2007, Bancroft School awarded her its most prestigious faculty honor, The Carpe Diem Award for excellence in teaching. Also in 2007, she was chosen to be a National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Teacher at Sea, allowing her to spend seventeen days conducting scientific research on an NOAA vessel.  Pearson is a Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences (BIOS) visiting faculty member. 

Joseph Choiniere (guest speaker for Earth Day April 22, 2010) and Clair M. Golding: What's That Bird?  Nearly one in five Americans is a birder. Many more would like to learn how to identify the common birds seen in their backyards. But the traditional field guides, packed with lots of detail and technical jargon, appear inaccessible to the uninitiated. What is a beginning birder to do?

What’s That Bird? offers a unique combination of ID guidance along with general information basic to becoming a birdwatcher, making it the perfect tool for beginning enthusiasts. Intended as a book for adults and children to share, the design and text are engaging and accessible to all ages. (Excerpted from www.bn.com)

Joseph Choiniere is a lifelong naturalist working for the Mass Audubon for over 25 years. Currently he is the director of the 1,200-acre Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary. He teaches classes at universities and colleges, as well as workshops for elementary and high school groups. He lives in Princeton, Massachusetts.

Claire Mowbray Golding is a freelance writer and editor with many years’ experience in educational publishing for K-12 students. A member of the Mountain Writers Guild and the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, she lives in Princeton. Her latest book (with co-author Kevin Gatta) is Communicating through Graphic Design (Davis Publications, 2009).